How To Ask For That Pay Rise

Ask and you shall (hopefully) receive

“If you’re frustrated because you’re not getting what you want, stop for a second: Have you actually flat-out asked for it?” writes Sophia Amoruso in #GIRLBOSS.

“If you haven’t, stop complaining. You can’t expect the world to read your mind. You have to put it out there, and sometimes putting it out there is as simple as just saying, ‘Hey, can I have that?’”

It’s a simple enough concept. Ask and you shall (hopefully) receive. You work hard. You’re good at what you do. So, why does the thought of putting your hand up for a raise fill you with 50 shades of anxiety? Asking for a pay rise can be nerve wracking. But it doesn’t need to be. Here’s some tips to make sure you come into bat with the your best game.

The pre-game

“Prepare for every negotiation,” writes Lois P. Frankel in Nice Girls Don’t Get The Corner Office. “One: focus on outcomes. What is it that you want to walk away with? Being as specific as possible also increases the likelihood of negotiation success. Two: support your desired outcome with data that points to its reasonableness. Three: writing down your key points in advance – and practicing them – enables you to stay focused on what's most important and avoid going off on tangents. Four: err on the side of asking for more, rather than less [of what you really want]. Five: be willing to walk away.”

Work out where you want to be

You don’t have to do all the hard work. Show your manager where you’d like to be, along with some examples of steps you’ve taken to get there and ask them what they need from you to get there? Be open to different ways to find your way there, too. Not everything is a straight line.

“Careers are a jungle gym, not a ladder,” Sheryl Sandberg writes in Lean in: Women, Work and The Will To Lead.

via Getty Images

Exceed expectations

You have to show that you’re playing at – or capable of playing at – the level you want to be paid at. That said, you don’t need to go all the way just yet.

“An internal report at Hewlett-Packard revealed that women only apply for open jobs if they think they meet 100 percent of the criteria listed,” says Sandberg.

“Men apply if they think they meet 60 percent of the requirements.”

Gender aside, the lesson is you don’t have to be 100 percent there (yet).

Do your homework

Know your worth. Research similar jobs and what they’re paying. Review online job ads to better understand what’s out in the market at the moment. Meet with recruiters to get an idea of what pay grade you should be playing for. And always, add a little extra. That way you afford to take a shave in the negotiation process.

Timing is everything

If you can wrangle it, request a meeting after you’ve done something worth acknowledging. Won a new account, increased the value of project, scored some really great social coverage for the project. It’s the old strike-while-the-iron-is-hot mentality.

Make an appointment

No surprises needed. Make it clear that you’d like to talk about remuneration. That way you’re managing expectations.

Play the game

If your company have forms to fill out, make sure you meet and where possible exceed all administration requirements. Be sure to include, where applicable, examples of your work that support your claims. Know where you’ve added value. Have you taken on more responsibility? Performed better? Kicked some goals?

The main event: know your opener

Yes, this means writing it down, making sure it’s clear and then committing it to memory. Know this off by heart.

Listen

Once you get your opener out, you’ll be able to listen to how they respond. That way, it will be more of a conversation, less of a soliloquy.

Know what’s on the table

Be realistic in what you’re asking for. Know too, it’s not just money at stake here. There might be a title bump, or the option to work a little more flexibly too.

Follow up

You might not always get a green light on the first meeting, so be sure to agree on next steps at the close of your meeting and confirm them over email. Hot tip: make sure there are dates next to these and you follow up. Like Amoruso says, “Fortune favours action.”

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